Park Wi [via personal social media]
Park Wi [via personal social media]

A series of lectures by YouTuber Park Wi have been canceled following a gapjil controversy, with criticism also mounting over his role as a Seoul Metropolitan Government ambassador.

According to event organizers, a lecture by Park titled "2026 Seoul Youth Policy Network Insight Talk" scheduled for Thursday at Seoul City Hall's multipurpose hall has been called off.

The Seoul Youth Policy Network is an official youth participation body run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, through which young people engage with city administration to identify issues and propose policy solutions.

Park had been set to speak at the event in his capacity as a Seoul Metropolitan Government ambassador. He and his wife, singer Song Ji-eun, were appointed as Seoul Metropolitan Government ambassadors in June last year.

The gapjil controversy has now spilled over into his ambassador activities. On an Instagram post Park made about a year ago announcing his appointment, critical comments have recently been piling up — including "Shouldn't they remove him as ambassador?" and "What right does he have to be an ambassador?"

Poster for a Park Wi lecture event
Poster for a Park Wi lecture event

A talk concert titled "Wirakle Park Wi's Talk Concert," organized by the Gangnam Cultural Foundation and scheduled for Friday, has also been canceled.

That event, too, was called off in the wake of the recent controversy surrounding Park.

Meanwhile, Park, a YouTuber with quadriplegia, posted a video on his YouTube channel on Saturday claiming he had fallen from his wheelchair while disembarking from a KTX train and criticizing a social service worker who had helped him off. Critics said the response was excessive — the social service worker had made an unintentional mistake while trying to help in good faith and had apologized politely, yet Park released CCTV footage of the incident. Critics also noted that Park, who built a following of about 1 million subscribers through content advocating for the socially vulnerable, had used his influence to engage in gapjil against a social service worker in a far less powerful position.


paq@heraldcorp.com